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Rain Garden Tour de Bellingham

posted May 15, 2013, 9:36 AM by Cathy Craver

Rain Garden Tour de Bellingham

Saturday, June 1, 2013 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

The Rain Garden Tour de
Bellingham will showcase a variety of local rain gardens, showing homeowners a
new way to help prevent stormwater pollution in their yards. Participants will
board a bus with local rain garden experts and begin a tour of rain gardens
around Lake Whatcom and throughout Bellingham.

Rain gardensare
shallow depressions filled with plants that allow stormwater to be captured and
absorbed. Rain gardens function like native forests to filter polluted
runoff, and help reduce flooding. When planted with the right types of plants,
rain gardens also attract birds, butterflies and bees.

“A well designed rain garden absorbs the first half
inch of rain during a rain event,” says Lee First, RE Sources’ Pollution
Prevention Specialist. "That first flush of rain contains the most amount
of pollution. Incorporating a rain garden into your landscape is one way you
can reduce the amount of stormwater that flows from your property helping to
keep contaminants out of our waterways."

“While
rain gardens are fantastic at removing many troublesome pollutants, improperly
installed rain gardens can add to water quality problems when located in
sensitive watersheds like Lake Whatcom and Lake Samish,” said Eli
Mackiewicz, Stormwater Engineering Technician at the City of Bellingham.
"The tour will focus on the special considerations that are taken when
designing and installing rain gardens for nutrient-sensitive watersheds.”

Rain garden and stormwater
experts from local organizations are collaborating to bring homeowners this
comprehensive guided tour, including RE Sources for Sustainable Communities,
Sustainable Connections, the City of Bellingham, and WSU Whatcom County
Extension. The tour cost is $20 to cover the cost of transportation and lunch.
Register at http://raingardentour.brownpapertickets.com
to reserve your space and find out where to meet the bus.